Summer, Salvador, Futebol, and The Largest Party on Earth

2/1 – 2/7

After a few days of rain at sea we finally got back to the sunshine! We crossed the equator on our way to Salvador so it is now officially summertime! Woo hoo! Crossing the equator also means extreme heat to the point where going outside without some shade or a strong breeze transforms you into a lovely puddle of sunscreen and sweat. Our interport lecturer Javier has been so excited for us to get to Brazil and his energy and enthusiasm has been infectious. So for the most part we were all excited to get to Brazil though there was a general concern about getting robbed or mugged as they constantly reminded us of the threat to our safety especially since we would be arriving on the final day of Carnival.

In keeping with tradition, a new port means sleeping out on the deck so Kate, Kayleigh, and I joined a few dozen of our other shipmates out on the deck in preparation for our arrival into Salvador!
Woo hoo for deck sleepovers! (Blog 1)

After a short night we awoke to Salvador rising up out of the darkness looking almost like Gotham City. Amazingly we could hear the distant rumblings of the music for the final hours of Carnival from all the way across the water! Salvador, Brazil (Blog 2)
Sunrise arrival into Brazil (Blog 3)

Once docked, Robyn, Kait, Kate, Megan, Kristin, and I set out to explore the city. It was fascinating to see the mix of immaculate looking houses, huge apartment buildings, condos, and dilapidated and run down housing of the Flavellas mixed so thoroughly together.

Portside in Salvador looking at the Lacerda Elevator to the Upper City (Blog 4)

Salvador is divided into two halves by terrain and so has a large structure called the Elevador Lacerda which moves people easily from the Lower to the Upper City. Elevador Lacerda is free to ride during Carnival of which we arrived for the last day, and otherwise costs something like 5 centavos per ride.

After exploring around the upper city known as Pelourinho for a while we found a restaurant called Axeco where I tried a seafood stew dish called Moqueca which had fish and shrimp and is made with coconut milk and dende oil. It was quite good but a little on the salty side. The portions were enormous and I was completely stuffed after eating only about 1/3 of the meal.
(Kristin, Kate, Kait, Megan, Robyn, and me mere hours before the insanity that is Carnival (Blog 5)

A few hours after returning to the ship, Kate and I boarded a bus to an SAS sponsored Camarote trip. Camarotes are essentially temporary clubs which are set up along the streets where the Carnival parades happen. They are exclusive only to those who have a ticket and a shirt unique to each Camarote. The experience was the most insane thing I have experienced thus far in my life. The scene resembled swarms of ants massing around pieces of bread to chest pounding music. There were thousands of people jumping, dancing, and singing in the streets, and we witnessed several Blocos roll through the street with bands and full sound and lighting equipment. Our Camarote was completely decked out with massage parlors, internet access, private bar and food access, bathrooms, laser lights, etc, so that we were able to be right next to the street but have a little less concern about being harassed by the throngs of people. There were about 80 SAS students at the Camarote and we even had an 18 man military police escort from the bus dropoff point into the Camarote.
Myself, Kira, Kate, Teneya, and Danielle in our sweet Camarote shirts (Blog 6)

Just getting started, the party lasts for 12 hours each day for a week and ends when the sun rises
Apparently Fat Boy Slim had a Bloco on this night but we missed it

After several hours of this it was time to go and SAS herded us back into the bus and safely got us back to the ship where I instantly fell asleep

The next day Robyn, Kait, Tracy, and I made our way into Salvador with the intention of catching a ferry to Itaparica island but ended up taking a small boat literally just across the marina to Sao Marcelo Fort, which was built hundreds of years ago by the Portuguese to defend the harbor and this section of the Bay of All Saints from invaders. Kait, Robyn, Me, and Tracy at Sao Marcelo
The view from Sao Marcelo

After a quick stop at the ship for lunch Kait used her impressive bargaining skills to cut us a deal on a Taxi to a nearby place called Barra to see the lighthouse and beach there. Walking along the beach it seemed odd to see the familiar emblems of Visa and Mastercard plastered over everything on the beaches contrasted against the products and advertisements uniquely Brazillian. Though the city is in its Carnival cleanup stages I can’t help but remark about the smell. Often as one walks through certain parts of the city it smells strongly of urine and there are some who claim to have seen people relieving themselves onto the street. I also learned that many of the beggars and street vendors were once homeowners or their descendants who were forced out of their homes by the government. They are largely uneducated and therefore attempt to eke out a meager living for themselves on the streets. As we were walking along the beach we observed many children playing in the surf using chunks of Styrofoam as boogie boards and on a nearby hill they were using what looked like cardboard to slide down the grass. How different their childhood must be!

The children at the beach

In stark contrast to the dirty sections of the city near the lighthouse was a spectacular restaurant called Itagiba which was open air overlooking the beach and the lighthouse. The four of us stopped there for some late afternoon drinks and appetizers. We finally got to try the infamous Caipirinha, a 100% Brazilian drink made with tons of crushed up fruit, vodka, and sugar cane. I thought it was quite good but I think I was alone in that sentiment. We also tried to order cheese balls and wound up with crabmeat balls instead; such is the experience of attempting to order food across a language barrier. In fact we haven’t encountered many who speak English outside of the area around the port. Also we were served some kind of green salsa looking stuff with our crab balls… WARNING DO NOT EAT THE GREEN STUFF! At least not without trying a small portion first. Robyn, Kait, and I failed to do this and I liken the experience to sticking a soldering iron into one’s mouth. This stuff was SPICY!!! After recovering from the green stuff we took in the view a while longer and headed back for a relaxing evening at the ship.

Itagiba is the cluster of tent like structures at the center of the picture overhanging the beach

Kate, Tracy, Myself, and Robyn enjoying the afternoon!

The next day I woke up for a SAS schooner trip which took me out into the Baia De Todos Os Santos (Bay of All Saints). We spent the morning crusing between Salvador’s two light houses which also gave a spectacular view of the city and of our ship.
Home sweet home

The tour of the Bay was fun but coincidentally ended with a tour of Sao Marcelo fort, the same fort I had just visited the day before! Though this time our guide spoke considerably better English so I got a bit more out of it. The fort was originally a defensive structure but was later used as a prison. The cell was sweltering in the heat and felt claustrophobic with about 50 SAS students in it. Our guide said at its heyday the cell held as many as 150 prisoners!
Our guides and schooner crew were dressed as Portuguese soldiers

After coming back from the schooner ride, I had a lazy afternoon in preparation for a Futebol game in the evening! SAS bussed 7 loads of us to Estadio Armando Oliviera where we watched Bahia take on Pocoes. The stadium was a little on the small side, but it was still very exciting to see a Futebol game in a country where they are so passionate about the sport. Fortunately we cheered Bahia on to a 2-0 win but Pocoes was lucky to have gotten away giving up only two goals as they were dominated the entire game. It was interesting to hear the variety of cheers the fans start on their own as unlike in most US sports there is no electronic board that informs the fans of when they’re supposed to cheer. They also have vendors roaming the stands as at a US sporting event but they were selling quite different things, like sugar cane, and popcorn with coconut shavings.
That’s Bahia in the white and Pocoes in the Blue